21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 21

Well, this is the last day of my challenge. I started out weighing 183 and this morning I weighed in at 179. I have hit some mental and physical roadblocks in the past three weeks, but this is not the end of my quest to be healthier for myself and my son.

It didn't end with a great workout or super healthy day of eating, but I am much more mindful of my actions and realize that makes a huge difference for me. I want to try to find a widget for tracking my workouts since I think this is key, but I'm not having luck so far since I'm new to this whole blogging world.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 20

Wisconsin State Fair, enough said! Actually because we went to the fair I got my walking in for the day no problem. I also could have eaten a lot worse than I did, this is true. What I did eat at the fair was:

Four bites of beef jerkey, a piece of chocolate covered bacon on a stick and a soft-shelled taco.

We also had a picnic with college friends after the fair and I started out OK, but did have a cupcake and a beer. My mom made bratwurst for my dad's birthday when we got home from that. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the state of Wisconsin and visiting my parents! This is where I really need to start evaluating my relationship with food because this is where all the trouble began. Is it no wonder that Wisconsin is 25th in the nation for obese adults?

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 19

This blogging accountability/guilt seemed to help today. I had just done some catch up posts and realized I was fading fast with my challenge, so I put on my gym clothes and went to the gym right after I put Elliott down for his nap. I did 12 min. straight of running (slowly building up to my 5k again) and 20 min. on the elliptical. I've decided to use the indoor track at the old gym for $2 a pop because running on a treadmill seems to mess with my right knee. Plus I don't like the hamster feeling.


We were eating so well today and planned on buying some sushi from the supermarket when we got up to my parents' place, but my mom had other plans. It's our own fault for not being more proactive, but she ended up ordering Toppers pizza and breadsticks and I happily indulged. :( Nothing like your college pizza shop expanding and opening up shop right by your parents' house to make a girl lose her willpower).

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 18

Crap! What's up with me and Fridays? Have I ever worked out on a Friday during this challenge? I don't think so.

It was a rainy day outside, so no walks and by the time I could have worked out I didn't. I barely squeezed two 30 min. naps out of Elliott today and by the time he went to bed I just felt totally unmotivated. He goes to bed by 6:30-7:00 so I really could be working out, but I don't. I can't wait until he's feeling better so I can bring him to the gym again (will this just continue our cycle of sickness?). In the meantime I need to make working out a priority because life and stuffy noses are bound to happen and I can't use them as excuses to slack.

Eating today, eh. It was OK until the end of the day when we had a margarita pizza and a drink. Granted this isn't the worst and I'm sure ultimately my calories for the day were not totally out there, but it just didn't feel right after our splurging yesterday. This is how my spiral into bad eating starts, so I really need to keep on my toes this time and not slide too much.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 17

Today was our 5th wedding anniversary!

My sister and her "friend" came down to babysit Elliott so we could go out for a celebratory dinner. Usually we just hang around the house when they are around, but since we had a couple hours to waste before dinner my sister and I took Elliott to the free zoo near our house. A fun and easy way to get 30 min. of activity in for the day and Elliott is starting to notice the animals!

We also took them out to lunch at On the Border and I got Pico Shrimp Tacos, but definitely overindulged in the chips and salsa, doh! Like I said, it's the little tweaks, right? If I wasn't mindful of my eating choices then it probably could have been a lot worse.

Of course we went out to eat for our anniversary and I personally don't feel that it was a time to think about calories or fat content. We enjoyed ourselves to the fullest and it was so nice to get out and be adults and not have to worry about somebody grabbing food from your plate. Scallops, cucumber martinis, lambchops, homemade Mounds Bar, mmmm.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 16

Today I was stuck at home since we only have one car and George had to go into the city for work. My activity consisted of walking around the neighborhood and to the store and my food consisted of Lean Cuisine meals. This may not sound all that healthy, but it is a huge improvement from the crap I used to buy when I was home alone. I definitely have an emotional eating issue which is going to be the biggest hurdle in my quest to eating healthier.

I did weigh myself and am down to 176.5 from 183 on Day 1 of my challenge, so that's super exciting! I have been far from perfect with my goals, but it just goes to show that little tweaks and awareness have been helping.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 15

Nope, it just didn't happen today. Keeping myself awake and taking care of Elliott was enough activity for the day, even though I know in theory that working out is supposed to energize you.

Eggs for breakfast, salad w. black beans and veggies for lunch, a taco salad minus the shell for dinner and plain yogurt w. honey for dessert kept me functioning today. That and 2-3 cups of coffee!

I feel a fizzle happening with this challenge and it's discouraging. On one hand I feel like life happens and you can't be 100% on all the time, but on the other hand I feel like I committed to 21 days and I should just suck it up. The story of my life, I don't know which side to listen to!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 14

Oh boy, last night was rough with a capital R! Elliott is definitely sick and poor thing was so stuffy and snotty. It got progressively worse throughout the day so I called his doc just to see if he had any pointers since this is Elliott's first official cold (damn gym). They just had me come in for a quick office visit and I used that as an opportunity to get my 30 min. of activity in since I was pretty darn tired myself and knew Elliott needed extra attention. Luckily we are about a 10-15 min. walk to the doc's office, so I walked Elliott over there and stopped at the store on the way back for soft tissues, Vapor bath and all the other goodies needed for a cold. Fun.

My brain is mush when it comes to remembering what I ate, but I do know that I've been keeping in line and not going overboard with my eating, so that's a plus.

One more week of the challenge and it will be challenging with a sick baby, that's for sure!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 13

The day isn't over and realistically I COULD still workout, but I'm not. ::Sigh::

We went to the pool at the gym today and did some Babies R' Us and Whole Foods shopping. Elliott appears to be starting with a cold or some other snotty condition. The last time he was stuffy was when he was 6 weeks old and now he's 8 1/2 months old, so I'm guessing the gym childcare might have something to do with it. I have a reservation at noon tomorrow for the childcare, but if he's still sneezing and has a runny nose I'm not taking him. Looks like it might be a day for the BOB or coordinating with George so I can get to the gym by myself.

Eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch and adobo chicken for dinner. My husband is too good to me and all these posts makes me realize I need to cook more (or at all)! Of course I couldn't pass on the greatest summer beer that we just discovered last weekend, O'Fallon Wheach Peach Wheat Beer.

Overall I'm still doing pretty good and have gone from around 183 to 179 in 13 days. Nine more pounds to go to get to my pre-pregnancy weight, but at least it's going in the right direction. Once I hit that weight then the REAL work begins!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 12

I tried a new machine at the new gym, it was some sort of Precor that was a mix of elliptical, stairstepper and the Gazelle. I like that I can mix up my workout a little even though I'm not doing anything crazy different. By the time my 30 min. workout was done and I went to daycare Elliott was not a happy camper. They have a glass partition door and he was on his knees with his hands up against the glass, it was a very sad and pathetic sight. I think next week I will keep the workouts short and try to pump some snacky bottles and go during off-peak times. Fingers crossed that he will start to like the place and get to know the sitters. I feel comfortable with the caregivers and the facility, now I just need to convince Elliott.

Good eating day, although I did have a couple drinks at night. At least we didn't go crazy with eating after drinking like we usually do. George made Korean short ribs, once again a very yummy dinner from my hubs!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 11

Can I have a do over day?

Totally skipped the 30 min. of activity, although I did spend the day at the park with Elliott and friends. Walking from the parking lot to the pavillion and then to the swings does not count as activity though.

Eating was just as spectacular today. I didn't realize our outing would be close to four hours long so I only had a granola bar in the diaper bag. Luckily my friends and their kids planned accordingly, so my whole morning and afternoon meals consisted of granola bars and gummy bears. We did have sushi for dinner, so I kind of redeemed myself at that point.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 10

Well, I went with my gut and took the plunge and changed gyms today. It was an unexpected decision since I was perfectly content with our current gym until this week when I took Elliott to the childcare there.

I'm loving the new gym already and feel 100% comfortable with the childcare, so that is huge. We joined Lifetime Fitness this afternoon and did our first workouts there as well. I did a 30 min. mix of elliptical and treadmill. I really need to up my running time, my mind is hitting a big wall when it comes to getting past 10 consecutive minutes. Why?

Did well with the eating side of things as well. We got salads from the cafe at the gym and had homemade eggdrop soup for dinner and strawberries and blueberries for dessert.

I can't believe I'm 1/2 way through my challenge already! Not too shabby.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 9

Hooray, I have finally caught up on my daily posts!

Today was another gym day and day 2 of leaving Elliott at the gym daycare. I only did a little over a mile on the treadmill even though I planned on doing a 20 min. jog, but my mind was on my little boy. When I dropped him off there were three crying kids in the room so I didn't know if he would succumb to the peer pressure and join in the crying festivites or if he would be ignored and crack open his skull because the crying kids were too distracting for the sitters. I think I am better off doing elliptical or lifting weights instead of trying to squeeze in actual training runs while Elliott (or myself) is transitioning into the daycare setting. I picked him up after only 30 min. and he was all smiles for me, so I hope this trend continues!

Eating, hmmm. Not too shabby, but George made a coleslaw salad with bacon and I just couldn't stop. He actually had to say "Um Kim, I think you're having a little too much of that salad" and I agreed and finished the heap that I just put on my plate. Oops! I'm starting to see that I need more structure with my eating since it is too easy for me to slowly slip into junky eating without it.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 8

Day "Ate" is right! Why is it that I can't step foot in Target without heading over to the Jelly Belly section and getting a bag of sour balls? It all started when I was pregnant and now the Target symbol is my Pavlovian bell for these fine candies! I vow that next time I step foot in Target I will have more will power and break that connection in my brain.

It was a sleepy kind of day and I didn't get to the gym for my run either, I just did a 30 min. walk around the neighborhood. While it's great that I'm keeping up with at least walking, I know it's not enough and I can't continue to use it as my crutch instead of doing a "real" workout.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 7

Well I made it through one week of the challenge and it hasn't been that hard (yet)!

This morning I went to the gym and did 30 min. on the elliptical. It was also the first day that I dropped off Elliott at the gym's daycare. Not a complete failure, but it definitely could have gone better. I will touch on this in a separate post.

Once again Chef George kept me eating healthy with Chicken Tortilla Soup and pasta with tomatoes and basil for dinner. Yum!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 6

Today was a new day after my disappointing 5k. We spent the morning walking around the local arboretum and it was beautiful and recharged my spirit. A very pleasant way to meet my 30 min. activity requirement.

I really need to start cooking, but I have to thank George for helping me stay on track with healthy eating. He made a chicken and broccoli stir-fry that hit the spot. Whenever he eats like crap or decides to make crappy food, I happily join him and that needs to stop. We once lived apart for 5 months when I was going to go to law school and I really lost a lot of weight and had good momentum with my eating habits once we lived together again. I just need to get that eating independence back!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 5

So....my 5k was a bit of a disappointment. I only ran 1/2 of it and let my mental hurdles get in the way of persevering and running the whole thing. The reasons/excuses I had were:

• My running watch died. It is kind of my security blanket on a run and I had no clue what my pace was by the time I hit the 1 mile marker.


• Elliott woke up 5 times to eat, I was near tears with exhaustion by morning.


• Horribly unorganized race. They didn't separate the runners and walkers at all, so the first mile was spent dodging walkers. Plus, having all those walkers around me did not help motivate me or give me that adreneline rush of a race.

Needless to say the mental challenge was much more harder to overcome than the physical challenge. I did feel the sting of tears when I decided to make it a walk instead of a run, but I'm trying not to be too hard on myself. However, I should not have had an all or nothing mentality about the race, that I know for sure.

We had a BBQ at a friend's house and I dipped a few too many dips, but overall I ate pretty good.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 4

Today was a day filled with travel and unfortunately I didn't get in my 30 minutes of activity. I made the excuse of trying to take it easy the day before my first 5k, but I know I could have done a quick walk during the day. I just didn't make it a priority and that's exactly where I have fallen short before and where this challenge becomes more challenging.

On the other hand I resisted my bad habit of junking it up when I get to my parents' house, which was no small feat. George picked up some awesome salads from the supermarket and when I got to their house I grabbed a banana vs. loading up on candy, cheese or whatever kind of junk food they have on hand. No wonder I have issues with food when I see how that house is stocked and it wasn't much different growing up.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 3

I managed to squeeze in my 30 min. of activity by taking a walk with Elliott shortly before going out for a much needed Girls' Night Out with some friends. I'm really feeling like the accountability of the blog and my 21 day challenge is making a difference because I know I would have otherwise skipped the walk.

We headed out to Bar Louie for dinner and I am quite proud of my choices. Yes, I had a Heineken Light, but prior to leaving I checked out meal ideas for the restaurant on The Daily Plate and in turn chose the Baja Fish Tacos for dinner. They were really good and the girls complimented my food choice because it did look like the most appealing meal on the table and they had no clue that I had picked the healthiest thing on the menu.

I love that I can go out and enjoy my night, but still make small changes that will hopefully have big results in the long run!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 2

So far, so good! I would hope so since I'm only 2 days into this bad boy challenge of mine. I started the day with a run outside. Did I mention I have my first post-baby 5k this Saturday and I basically started getting serious about my running about a week ago? I was actually signed up to do the Chicago Rock N' Roll 1/2 Marathon in about 10 days, but obviously that isn't happening. Although I am slightly disappointed in myself for slacking on the running front, I am trying to appreciate what I am doing and not be so hard on myself. I set my timer for 30 minutes and ended up doing about 2 min. of walking at the 1/2 way point, but finished strong after that. Hopefully I can do the 5k without walking, that would be my first goal and I'm not even going to think about my time for this race. I figure it will be my starting point and all other races should just be improvements upon this one.

Pretty good with the eating again, although I had one too many Fiber One bars for one person's digestive system to take in one day! I've been focusing on keeping snacks small and eating more fruits and veggies, I think this will be key to not feeling deprived and like I'm on a diet. For dinner my husband made a Tortilla Soup that he saw on "Just Cook This!". Fantastic and really healthy and filling! I'm not the cook in our family, but I think my husband is slowly making me a convert by watching this show because the recipes are really, really easy and look so tasty.